Protein phosphorylation is a critical mechanism for regulating protein function in the signal transduction pathway in normal and transformed cells. Protein tyrosine kinases (PTK) are an important class of phosphorylating enzymes which mediate this signalling and thereby regulate cell growth and proliferation. PTKs catalyze the transfer of the terminal phosphate from ATP to the phenol of tyrosine in substrate proteins. Some growth factor receptors, protooncogenes and oncogene products possess PTK activity. The overexpression or inappropriate expression of normal or mutant kinases can result in the loss of growth control and the unregulated cell proliferation associated with malignancy. Small molecules which selectively inhibit these enzymes are, therefore, of therapeutic interest as mediators of cell growth and as antitumor agents.
In some growth factor dependent tumors, the growth factor signal transduction pathway employs the intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity of the growth factor receptor for autophosphorylation and the phosphorylation of specific cellular proteins involved in mitogenesis and cell proliferation. Specific inhibitors of PTKs have been identified previously. It has been previously demonstrated that by uncoupling the PTK from the signal transduction pathway, inhibitors of the growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases result therapeutically in antitumor activity. This antitumor activity has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Most known tyrosine kinase inhibitors are styrene-like small molecules in which the aromatic ring is hydroxylated, resembling tyrosine itself.
For example, the EGF-TK inhibitor erbstatin is reported to inhibit the growth of human epidermoid carcinoma A431 cells with an IC.sub.50 =3.6 .mu.g/mL (J. Antibiot. 1986;39:170). Erbstatin also inhibits the growth of the human mammary carcinoma MCF-7 and some esophageal tumors in nude mice in a dose-dependent manner (Eur. J. Cancer 1990;26(6):722 and Japanese Patent 03,109,323). Another class of PTK inhibitor called the tyrphostins also potently inhibited the EGF-dependent growth of A431 cells in vitro (J. Med, Chem. 1989;32:2344; J. Med. Chem, 1991;34:1896). The antitumor activity of two tyrphostins has been verified in vivo in nude mice bearing human squamous cell carcinoma MH-85 (Cancer Res, 1991;51:4430). In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity against A431 tumors has also been reported for a series of sulfonylbenzoyl nitrostyrenes (J. Med. Chem. 1991;34:2328) as TK inhibitors (J. Med. Chem. 1991;34:2328 and Helv. Chim. Acta 1992;75:696).